Joining a growing number of businesses and public services, the Australian LEGO Certified stores are launching their own low-sensory shopping experience starting on Tuesday 12th April. Read on for the official press release.
For those that don’t know, low-sensory experiences are designed to help people who might experience hypersensitivity to large amounts of noise, light and touch- for example. This approach is literally designed to help them experience the joy of the LEGO stores without feeling overwhelmed.
Having seen this kind of service in action, and knowing some people with children affected by hypersensitivity, this is great to see! I really hope that a lot of people get a huge amount of joy and fulfilment from this!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Official AG LEGO® Certified Stores Press release
AG LEGO® Certified Stores has launched ‘Quiet Hour’ – a new low-sensory shopping experience held at all LEGO Certified Stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Quiet Hour will be held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month for one-hour post-standard trade*, commencing this Tuesday 12th April to help make a difference to customers who find it challenging to shop in a heightened sensory environment
During Quiet Hour, customers will notice key changes within AG LEGO Certified Stores including reduced store lighting, music turned down or o and register and scanner volumes reduced to the lowest level possible.
Matthew Robertson, GM AG LEGO Certified Stores comments: “Our Quiet Hour initiative aims to support individuals who may be easily stimulated and may have hypersensitivity to sensory inputs like light, sound, and touch.
“Quiet Hour hopes to bring a sense of normalcy to individuals who find themselves overwhelmed by stronger sensory inputs as AG LEGO Certified Stores seeks to best support all members of our growing brick-fan community.”
Confirmed Quiet Hour dates for 2022 include 12th April, 10th May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September, 11th October, 8th November and 13th December.
To find more details on this exciting initiative including store ‘Quiet Hours’, please visit: https://lego.bricksmegastore.com/pages/whats-new
Ends.
I’m hypersensitive and this is a great initiative, though some disability advocates hope for Quiet Hours to be a more regular thing, rather than once a month for an hour (though I understand this could just be a pilot run for now). Many hypersensitive people are that way due to autism and other neurodivergencies so their (and their parents’) schedules may not be amenable to specific Quiet Hours timings. Additionally some of these changes (such as to register noises) can be made permanent as there’s not much of a reason to keep them the way they are outside of Quiet Hours. But overall it’s a great start and I hope to see more regions and more franchises do the same.
I’m glad you’re going to benefit from this. I hear you on the amount of time (and also when it is). Hopefully it’s a trial that is so successful they expand it!